Polling largely peaceful in N-E

The percentage of polling ranged from 50 per cent in Nagaland to around 35 to 40 per cent till this afternoon in the two other eastern states of Tripura and Meghalaya in the assembly elections to elect 60 member houses.

The polling was peaceful in Tripura and Meghalaya, while in Nagaland an NSCN(IM) activist was shot dead and two others were arrested by security forces and police in Agri colony area during a search operations to bust militant hideouts in the state capital town of Kohima in the morning.

Suspected militants also fired in the air to frighten away voters at Changtongia town in Mokokchung district, with miscreants destroying EVMs at a polling station in Impur constituency, the Nagaland police said.

In Tripura, over 50,000 army personnel, para-military forces and armed policemen were deployed. Forty people were killed in clashes and rebel attacks in the runup to the assembly elections.

In Nagaland,over 10 lakh voters would decide the fate of 225 canidates, including Chief Minister SC Jamir (Congress), former Chief Minister Hokishe Sema (BJP) and another former chief minister KL Chisi who is the JD(U) state president.

Most seats in the state are witnessing direct fights between the Congress and the Nagaland Peoples Front or between the Congress and BJP.